Billionaires Turn Away from Trump – He Urges Them Not to Be "Stupid and Weak"

WELT Billionaires Turn Away from Trump – He Urges Them Not to Be "Stupid and Weak" 1 hour • 3 minutes reading time With his tariff war, US President Trump is increasingly alienating his wealthy supporters. Even tech billionaire Elon Musk is distancing himself. Fund manager Bill Ackman accuses Trump of a "major mistake based on bad math." The US President is responding in his own way. Business leaders and billionaires were long considered natural allies of US President Donald Trump. But with his tariff war against the entire world, the Republican has alienated some of his supporters. According to the Washington Post, tech billionaire and Trump advisor Elon Musk tried in vain last weekend to get Trump to back down. Following sustained criticism of his tariffs, Trump targeted a new group on Monday and even coined a word for them: "Panicans." These are "weak and stupid people" who don't believe in his economic policies, Trump wrote in the style of a preacher on his online service, Truth Social. With strength, courage, and patience, everything will be great, he told all doubters: "Don't be weak! Don't be stupid!" The group of skeptics, however, is growing in light of the ongoing stock market turmoil and the second wave of Trump tariffs, which are set to take effect on Wednesday. These include the 20 percent tariffs against the EU and the more than 40 percent against Asian countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, which also produce textiles for US companies. US fund manager and billionaire Bill Ackman, who supported Trump during the election campaign, was particularly harsh. In a series of online messages on X, he accused the president of instigating a "nuclear war against every country in the world." The 58-year-old criticized the US government for calculating tariffs on its trading partners in grossly inflated terms. Trump must correct his course quickly before he makes a "major mistake based on poor math," Ackman demanded. Other business leaders, such as Jamie Dimon of the largest US bank, JP Morgan, warned of declining corporate profits, rising prices for US consumers, and a rift with long-standing trading partners. "My most serious concern is how this affects America's long-term economic alliances," Dimon wrote in his annual letter to shareholders. Even Trump's closest ally and "efficiency" advisor, Musk, appears to be distancing himself. Over the weekend, he advocated for a free trade zone between North America and the EU, without the president commenting on the matter. At the beginning of the week, Musk published a 1980 video by the late US economist Milton Friedman on his online service X. In it, the famous economist explains to laypeople that a simple pencil is composed of components from all over the world. This is why a "free market" and "harmony and peace among the peoples of the world" are so important, says Friedman. He is thus describing the decades-long consensus that Trump has now broken. Trump, however, wouldn't be Trump if he listened to his critics. On the contrary, he further escalated the tariff conflict with China and threatened Beijing with tariffs of over 100 percent starting Wednesday – almost double the previously announced surcharges. Trump dismissed the tariff "pause" demanded by business leaders and economists for negotiations and to calm the stock markets. "We're not looking at that," the president said during an appearance at the White House with his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump's seriousness is demonstrated by his behavior toward Israel. He even imposed 17 percent tariffs on his friend "Bibi." Trump boasted that almost all of his trading partners were now calling him and wanting to negotiate. The countries were even offering him things he never asked for. This, he said, was great: "The tariffs will make this country very rich."